Orchid Care – The Essentials
Posted by admin
It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of orchids or you have just been given one as a gift. The make sure that you have a beautiful orchid, you need to know a little about orchid care. There is a lot of literature about caring for orchids but I’m going to take you through the basics.
Orchid lighting and positioning: Orchids like all plants need sunlight to survive. You need to ensure they get enough direct sunlight throughout the day. Think about the positioning of the orchid. Different windows in your house will get different amounts of sunlight. Be careful not to leave your orchid in direct sunlight all day as the leaves will go a yellowy color.
Correct temperature for orchids: Orchids (except the odd few) like warm climates. This is because most originate from tropical regions. Again think about the positioning, if you place next to a south facing window then the temperature is likely to be ok. Don’t leave your orchids outdoor in winter as this will probably kill them.
Watering orchids: This is one of the most difficult parts of orchid care. When people are caring for orchids, especially beginners, they tend to over water orchids. Orchids should be dry before you water them. If you aren’t sure then wait a little as you don’t want to over water. You need to strike a balance between dry and dried out. Dried out orchids die! As a general rule don’t ware more than once a week.
Re potting orchids: This is the most practical part of orchid care and the orchid owner often dreads it. There are 2 reasons to re pot.
1) the orchid has outgrown its pot
2) the growing medium need changing
It is best to re pot in the spring before new growth. When you re pot make sure you water the growing medium thoroughly.
Now you know a little about the basics of orchid care you should be able to sit back and enjoy your orchid. Eventually when you are a little more experienced then caring for orchids will become easier.
Humidity Levels For Orchids
Posted by admin
Humidity is a complex area when it comes to orchid care as not everyone knows what it means. Humidity is the measurement of water vapour in the atmosphere and usually expressed as a percentage, where 100% is saturation point.
Tropical areas tend to have higher humidity levels and given that orchids tend to originate from such areas, humid conditions benefit the plant. It is not unheard of for tropical areas to have humidity levels in excess of 80%. Don’t be put off by that figure, you don’t need to replicate this humidity level exactly but there are certain techniques you can use when caring for orchids.
Orchids make great houseplants but conditions aren’t optimal. This is especially the case during winter months. I will go through a few orchid care tips which you can use to raise humidity levels. Don’t worry; the overall humidity level of your house won’t change!
A technique well known by most plant keepers (of all kinds) is misting. You fill a spray bottle with water and spray or ‘mist’ the orchid. This increases the amount of water in the atmosphere close to the orchid and hence the humidity level. Be careful not to mist at the end of the day when temperatures are cooler. There needs to be enough time for the water to evaporate and not settle. If the water doesn’t evaporate properly then this can lead to problems such as disease. Mornings and afternoons are the best times to moist to ensure a healthy orchid.
By keeping your orchids close to each other they can work in generating a more humid microclimate. It also saves time with the misting! Close is good but don’t pack your orchids so that the air can’t circulate. Good circulation is vital part of good orchid care. You don’t want the air around your orchids stagnant so use a fan, open window or place wear there is a draft to get the air moving around your orchids.
I would suggest using an evaporation tray. Using a shallow tray filled with water and pebbles can easily create an evaporation tray. This too will help with creating a humid microclimate for you orchids. You need to place the orchid pot on the pebbles ensuring that the pot isn’t touching the water. Placing the orchid pot directly into the water will result in over watering and result in your orchid dying. Please read orchid care articles for watering tips. You need to ensure that your tray remains relatively clean. Every couple of months dismantle your tray and give the pebbles a thorough clean before putting it back together.
Orchid Care – Lighting Tips
Posted by admin
There are many would-be orchid growers around who would love to start growing orchids but are put off by their reputation as difficult to care for. Orchids are quite resilient plants but there are a few techniques on orchid care that you can use.
Orchid growers will tell you that one of the best ways to learn is through experience. This can be quite costly though as orchids are quite expensive to buy and you don’t want a simple mistake to cause you to end up throwing your orchid away. Please bear in mind that each species has different requirements and that your environment will play a significant part in how your orchid grows.
Orchids can be kept both indoors and outdoors but you must remember that orchids generally thrive in warm temperatures. Having said that, there are orchids such as Cymbidium which prefer cooler conditions. They need a temperature of around 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) at night time and up to 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) in the day. It is recommended that you don’t keep your orchid in your conservatory in long summer days as the extreme temperatures will be too much for your orchid. If you must keep your orchid in the conservatory then make sure there is enough shade.
It is important that your orchids get the right amount of sunlight. A lack of sunlight will result in the failure of your orchid to bloom. However, too much light, especially too much sunlight may result in your leaves burning. You can use the color of the leaves indicate whether your orchid is receiving too much light. A yellowish color on your leaves is a clear sign that your orchid is receiving too much light.
Think about the positions in and around your house where you keep your orchids. Because of their beauty, orchids are often kept on display in the main living area. How much natural light do these areas receive? Windowsills are a good place. Consider the directions that your windows are facing. North facing windows will be better for orchids which don’t require much sunlight. For orchids which require more sunlight then a south facing window will be better. Be careful of west facing window in the long summer evenings as sunburnt leaves are a real possibility.
If your geographical location means that you can’t provide enough natural light for your orchids then consider using artificial light. Allow your orchid some time to rest, don’t have the artificial lights on constantly.
Light is only one consideration when talking about orchid care but a very important one and shouldn’t be neglected.
Orchid Care – Difficult Choices
Posted by admin
Orchid growers come across many difficult choices when caring for their orchids. Perhaps one of the most difficult is deciding on how much to water the orchid. This is probably the most common mistake novices make.
It is very hard to judge the right time and the right amount of water to give to your orchid. Probably the biggest mistake people make is over watering the orchid. Very rarely do people under water, as with light people tend to over do it.
Different orchids require different amounts of water but what they all have in common is that they don’t like having their roots submerged in water as their roots will rot and die.
Even then, the orchid will require different amounts of water depending on the season. In the summer when it is hot your orchid will require more water than in the winter.
Tap water is ok for the orchid but rainwater is much better. Try leaving a couple of watering cans in the garden to catch the rain so that you will have a constant source of water for your plants.
You could feed your orchids with extra nutrients if you don’t feel that they aren’t getting enough naturally. There are many different types of plant feed available from the very weak to the very strong. I would recommend that you find specialist orchid feed which is usually available at most garden stores. If you can’t find one then ask a store assistant which they recommend of those that they do stock. If you are still struggling then you can use general fertilizer as long as it isn’t too strong.
Another difficult decision to be made by the orchid grower is when to re-pot. Again the frequency of the re-potting will vary depending on the orchid but they will all require potting for one or all of these possible scenarios.
• The compost may have begun to decompose and therefore lost its nutritional content.
• The compost may have become waterlogged due to over watering
• The orchid may have out grown its current home.
When you re-pot you need to use compost which allows water to drain away easily. This will help prevent the roots sitting in water and rotting.
The size of the new pot is very important. On most occasions the size of the new pot will be the same as the old. You should only increase the size of the pot if your orchid was too large for its old pot. The roots of your orchid like to be snug.
These two areas of orchid care often provide challenges for even the most experienced of orchid growers, so you are in good company. I have only touched the surface of these two topics so please read more material for further information.
Growing Orchids in a Hydroponic Garden
Posted by admin
How long have you been growing orchids for? If you are anything like me you would have fallen in love with growing orchids. But have you ever considered setting up your own hydroponic garden? Well, you may be surprised to know that it is a lot easy than you think and it can help you with your orchid care.
Let me start by explaining a little about hydroponic gardens. To put it simply, hydroponics is the process of growing plants without soil. Instead of soil or compost, the roots of the orchids are placed in a mineral nutrient solution.
Hydroponic systems have become very popular in recent years, not just for orchids but all plants in general. There are many advantages associated with growing plants/crops in a hydroponic system. These advantages are beneficial especially to commercial farmers where their livelihood depends on the success of a crop yield.
The soilless nature of hydroponics means that soil borne diseases are no longer an issue. How many times have one of your orchids developed a disease which originated in the soil and infected many orchids before you realised? This will not happen in your hydroponic garden which means there is less need for pesticides.
Not only do you not have to purchase any soil, you will no longer need to perform possibly the worst part of orchid care – weeding. Due to its nature, hydroponics removes this mundane task from your schedule.
As you will be aware, over watering an orchid is a very common mistake. Your hydroponic system will allow you to set up the correct watering schedule. You will also prevent waste by not watering weeds.
You can set up a hydroponic system almost anywhere. This means that if you have very little space you will still be able to set up your own garden. It also means that your climate will have less of an influence so you could try orchids which would never grow in ‘your’ type of soil.
Do you ever have problems getting your enough light to your orchids? Well, with a hydroponic system more of your orchid is exposed to light. As more of the orchid is visible, especially the roots, it becomes easier to make a quick diagnosis of any problems which will prevent disease from spreading.
Due to advances in science we now know the nutrients which ideally suit the orchid. This means that our orchids get everything they need to grow in the right quantities. So if you set your hydroponic garden up correctly, all your care will result in you growing beautiful orchids. To learn more about hydroponics Click Here!
Orchid Care – Watering, Temperature and Positioning
Posted by admin
Growing a breathtakingly stunning orchids can be an extremely satisfying accomplishment as well as a frustratingone. There are lots of orchid addicts aboutattempting to grow the seamless orchid, however, many orchid carerhas been left agonized in attempting to succeed in this goal.
If you haven?t yet purchased your orchid, the easiest option to do it is at a garden center which specializes in orchids. You will learn that the workers at these specialized centers will possess lots of years of knowledge and heaps of enthusiasm. They will position you in the correct route of where you mightbegin. When you do unearth a helpful workerensure that youmake a note of their name so you can obtain a little help when you may need it in the months to come.
Orchid care is so much more an skill than a science so there aren’t anystrict guidancethat you ought to keep to. There is, however, help that you may benefit from to help you before you become more skilled.
Watering
The exact volume of watering needed is challenging to determine. Commonly there seems to be a bias to offer excessive amounts of light for your orchid, also it isnormal for the orchid to be over watered. Orchids need a lot less water than many peoplerealise. You will need to water more during the summer than you are required to during the winter. You should try and use rainwater where achievable as this is more desired than house water. Think about starting a rainharvesting method into your garden in order that you will forever possess a plentifulresource of rainwater. When you are not convinced if your flower wants watering it is typicallyydelayand hold your fire as orchids will live through temporay dry periods.
Temperature
Orchids by and large prefer a humid place with temperatures of greater than 50?F. For orchids distributed in all-purpose nurseries, temperatures more often than not range from 50?F to 60?F. When you are feeling a little moreambitious subsequently carry out a little exploration and care foran orchid that wants temperatures of 65?F all through the year.
Positioning
The greatest location to place the orchid is in a suitably lit place as high levels of light are essential. Avoiding direct sunlight is also a must as excessive amounts oflight might lead to leaf scorch. If the leaves start to turn a red like color then this is a indication of excessivelight and you ought to try and create more shade to force the plant temperature lower.
All About Orchids
Posted by admin
The orchid flower comes from a very diverse and the largest flowering family on the planet. It is also one of the oldest, 100 million years or so orchids have been growing on earth. This reason plus they are very versatile has enabled many species to multiple and multiple. It is believed that there are more the 35,000 species of orchid. There are also many more hybrid varieties of this wonderful flower family.
Although orchids have been around for a while they are still very popular. In fact, in recent years the have become more and more popular. They were first cultivated a few centuries ago although there beauty has been appreciated much longer than that. The Chinese and Japanese cultures were writing about orchids a few thousand years ago. Up the 20th century orchid cultivation remained in the spheres of the wealthy. In England, the aristocracy were keen orchid growers ever since the first global traders brought them back from the far corners of the world.
Everybody knows that vanilla comes from a plant. You may be surprised to know that it is actually an orchid where vanilla is derived, the planifolia to give it its correct name. Vanilla is solely grown for its commercial value as opposed to most other orchids which are very beautiful plants and grown for their beauty. Many farmers around the world grow the orchid crop just for the vanilla seeds.
There are many orchid fanatics around due to the beauty of the orchid flower. It is not only humans that appreciate orchids, insects are attracted to orchids which in turn assists in reproduction.
There are flying insects such as bees which attracted into the pollinia of one particular orchid. The Bee Orchid looks very much like a female bee. The male be believes it is approaching a female when it is in fact assisting in the pollination process.
Here are some other examples of how orchids have evolved to reproduce:
Orchids with long stems that dance in the wind which look like butterflies.
Practical orchids which have landing platforms for insects to rest.
Orchids with slippery surfaces which insects slip on and fall into the flower ensuring nectar is brushed into the pollina.
The Angreacum Sesquipidales emits a scent to attract moths. In fact, Darwin wrote about this particular orchid. He predicted that a moth would be the insect to pollinate this orchid because the white flowered orchid emitted its scent at night.
